ROLL CALL: The first 120 pupils at the UK's first academy dedicated to engineering arrived for lessons yesterday.

The £22 million JCB Academy in Rocester opened four years after the vision for the school was first conceived.

The year 10 pupils began

a curriculum designed to produce the engineers and business leaders of tomorrow.

JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said: "The facilities here offer students the opportunity to learn about manufacturing and engineering in a way that is exciting and practical."

Fifty six form students will start their studies at the academy on Monday, September 13.

Pictured, from left, are 14-year-olds David Hitch,

Cameron Pearce, and Dan Malbon, all from Cheadle, and Tyler Bourne, from Meir Park.

Picture: Mark Scott